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Jackie Taylor, Donor and Volunteer English
and Physical Education Teacher
My first visit to Nepal was in 1995, principally
to go trekking to see for myself these fabulous, famous mountains. Like
many others who go to go trekking I too fell in love with the people, a
facet often overlooked and which comes as a great surprise to those whose
sole objective is the mountains. Subsequently I returned many times, trekked
in most areas thus meeting a variety of ethnic groups and eventually set
up Ravi Tours in Palpa. Whilst building our lodge house I inevitably became
involved in the local village communities and began doing some teaching,
English (simply because it is my mother tongue) and Physical Education which
is my profession.
One day Lokendra Thapa asked if I would go
and see "his" school which sits upon a ridge above Sarai "our" village and
has views of Annapurna peak. I needed little encouragement, the opportunity
to see this, the first 8000m peak ever climbed, was too good to miss. 
When I first visited Karnadhar School with
Lokendra, in April 2002 it had a new building underway and an old building
in a state of disrepair. The old building was of traditional building construction
i.e. stone and mud, so once it began to crumble it simply fell down. This
deprived the school of much needed classroom space and also blackboard space
since outside the walls supported the boards and lessons took place in the
open. However the
now holed corrugated iron was salvaged to furnish some of the new roof but
as Nepal has a monsoon season the classes which occupy the seven part covered
rooms must abandon lessons when it becomes wet.
In spite of all the difficulties these youngsters are enthusiastic to learn (English is a very important subject) are well disciplined and are proud of their 'white' shirts and blue trousers or skirts.
I taught English to all or any of the Classes and also got a little involved in their Physical Education, this is extremely difficult as there is virtually no space to exercise and certainly no equipment. I do take out "used" equipment if the airline will allow excess baggage but there is so much that is needed it is difficult not to contribute something just by being there.
Now, when I climb that hill it is with considerable pride that I see the school as it has developed so far, and huge gratitude to those who have given both time and money to achieve this. As with all such ventures this is only the beginning, there is much to do but the children now meet all visitors with smiles, songs and dances whereas before they run to hide in classrooms.
Ally Troon: Volunteer English Teacher, Spring
2003
I was introduced to Shree Karnadhar Secondary
School by my friend Jackie Taylor, who has many connections with Nepal.
After graduating I went trekking in the Himalayas, but my wish to become
more deeply involved in the everyday lives of the people of a different
country and culture led me to volunteer as an English teacher in a rural
location. With little real experience of teaching or travelling in a developing
country, I did not know what to expect, but found myself bowled over by
the welcome I received at the school, with students of different ages and
sizes competing to get me into their classrooms. My initial feelings of
"great...but now what do I do?" were quickly replaced by a greater confidence
in what I was doing, made possible by the help I received from staff and
students alike. If the curriculum seems at times not to relate to life away
from the cities, a foreigner can enliven it with fresh ideas. If conditions
at the school are basic and teaching materials sparse, the opportunity to
develop the imagination of the students is greater for it. Much of the time
I found it was I who was doing the learning. 
Shree Karnadhar Secondary School is one of hundreds of such establishments struggling financially to survive and grow in one of the poorest countries in Asia. It is difficult to support an education program at all, with teachers pay low and in places non-existent. There are many that would welcome volunteers, and I know from the friendships I have made how supportive local communities can be to relatively fresh-faced incomers like me. I would recommend this school as one that easily incorporates and makes the new volunteer feel at home. This balances nicely with the fact that there will always be newcomers and new generations at the school, many of whom will have never met a westerner before. Therefore the natural curiosity of the students that helps makes it such a fun experience remains.